A system and method enables a file server, to support multi path input/output operations for Fibre Channel devices. Upon each Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop initialization event generated, the system and method updates a path and device instance to track multiple paths to a given device. While the file server is attempting input/output operations, the failure of a given path can be corrected by the use of another path associated with a given device. The data structures generated by the low levels of the storage operating system are exposed for use by upper level services for routing a storage device identification purposes.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method, comprising: storing one or more data structures on a storage system, each data structure storing information about a particular device; determining that a path from a storage system to a storage device has been removed from the storage system; in response, removing the removed path from a data structure associated with the storage device; determining whether at least one data path is still linked to the data structure; in response to there not being at least one data path still linked to the data structure, removing the data structure from the storage system; and in response to there being at least one data path still linked to the data structure, leaving the data structure on the storage system.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removed path is a first data path and the at least one remaining is a next data path.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first data path is used for I/O operations by the storage system until removal, and the next data path is used for I/O operations by the storage system once the first data path is removed.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
February 20, 2007
May 20, 2008
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